Sergeant Troy was rather disappointing again yesterday which remains a mystery as he seemed to be travelling well and then "cut out" rather quickly.

Federation travelled up to Thirsk yesterday afternoon and runs in the 8 furlong maiden race at 3.30pm where she will be ridden by Graham Gibbons who rode her when she was placed at Doncaster recently.  She would appear to have two main opponents in the shape of the Godolphin colt Burj Hatta and Brian Meehan's Dean Swift. If the handicapper is correct we should have the beating of the Godolphin colt and I am hoping that as Dean Swift has not run since last year, we will have a reasonable chance of her breaking her maiden. She would appear to be improving from each race and having been narrowly beaten last time but 9 lengths clear of the rest, she deserves a victory.

Federation

Proponent returns to Goodwood to run in the Totesport Mile a race in which he finished 4th last year off the same BHA rating of 97 and he meets the well supported favourite Green Destiny on 12lb better terms for an easy beating (4 lengths) at Newmarket in May. He looks terrifically well and is in good form but it is a race that requires alot of luck in running. He has now won £93,000 in prize money and he has been  very consistent,  his disappointing run in the Hunt Cup should be ignored as he saw too much daylight from the start and ran with the choke out for most of the race.  I noticed that last years race was worth £93,000 to the winner and this year it has suffered a 20% reduction to £77,000 which is disappointing for such a big and successful racecourse. Tom Segal (Pricewise) of the Racing Post who has a wonderful record as a tipster,  has suggested that  "Proponent is well worth supporting at 20/1"  and I hope he is correct !

Proponent

I thought that Silver Lime ran a very encouraging race at Sandown last night where he ran on well up the hill to finish 5th in a race that had some good looking and well fancied colts in the field. I like to give my two year olds plenty of time between their races but I will be looking for another one in 3-4 weeks time for him.

It was encouraging to see Madame Excelerate  make all and win the apprentice race at Sandown as Camberley Two had beaten her by nearly 4 lengths at Yarmouth on Monday. Camberley Two will be entered today in a mile handicap at Pontefract on Wednesday where he will have a 6lb penalty.

Sergeant Troy is our only runner today and he runs in the last race at Nottingham wearing a Visor for the first time. He has been rather disappointing in his two previous starts but he is down in grade and the race looks winnable so fingers crossed we get a better performance this afternoon.

Sergeant Troy

Our only runner today is at Sandown where Silver Lime (USA) runs for the first time in the 7 furlong two year old maiden race at 6.55pm. He is a colt by Mizzen Mast (a Juddmonte stallion) out of a mare by Diesis who is a half sister to Flute (USA) who won the Kentucky Oaks and from the family of Brian Boru and Workforce.  Being drawn 10 is a slight disadvantage but I hope that he will drop in and be able to run through horses in the closing stages and learn as much as possible.

Silver Lime (USA)

Sea of Heartbreak and Lucy Limelites on the summer gallop

It was very satisfying to find another race for Camberley Two at Yarmouth yesterday, he has now won his last four races and he will be attempting to join Frankel's dam Kind who achieved five straight wins in 2004.   There are several options for Camberley Two to run again with a 6lb penalty right through to Haydock on Friday evening 5th August.  Any five day entries that are made for him up to this Saturday morning (for the following Fridays races) will all be before the handicapper has a chance to reassess him. Although yesterdays race lacked any strength or depth, he won with authority and no doubt faces up to a 9 or 10lb rise in the future. We have no runners today and Silver Lime (USA) runs for the first time tomorrow evening at Sandown.

I felt sorry for Pontefract racecourse as there were alot of people who had come to see Cityscape run, but unfortunately there was a strong breeze together with consistent sunshine throughout the day and the ground having been good when I arrived at midday was definitely riding fast by mid-afternoon.  Cityscape is too good a horse to risk at this stage in the season and as usual patience is the word when it comes to training horses. There are no immediate plans for him but having a fresh horse in the Autumn when the ground changes might be an advantage.  Zero Money got himself a bit hot and sweaty before his race but it was warm and there was a big crowd together with a splendid Brass band. He had the advantage of a good draw and it was frustrating to be narrowly beaten by the in form Tim Easterby, but it was an encouraging run and he deserves to win another race.

Camberley Two heads to Yarmouth today for the 4.15pm having had a break of nearly a month since his last race at Brighton over 7 furlongs. He is in good form but whether it is possible to win four races in a row is questionable, but he is progressing and a mile at Yarmouth will suit him better than 7 furlongs at Brighton,  stepping up to 10 furlongs may suit in the future.

Camberley Two

Folly Bridge ran well at Newmarket to be 5th and beaten 2 lengths in a race that she ran in last year when she was beaten 4 lengths off a 8lb lower mark, it's going to be tough for her to win off her current rating of 99.  I'm not sure why Discovery Bay was so disappointing at Ascot and I don't have an excuses at the moment but perhaps a mile and on faster ground will see him in a better light and his next race is likely to be in a maiden.  Loxton Lad ran as expected but he did get on his toes before the race so we might remove his wedding tackle before too long which might help him in the future.

Cityscape and Zero Money run at Pontefract today and the ground is currently good having been on the easy side yesterday after plenty of rain during the week. Let's hope it his 3rd time lucky for Cityscape having been withdrawn at Ascot and Maisons Laffitte on the two previous  weekends due to fast ground.  I hope Zero Money will be suited by dropping back to 6 furlongs as he didn't quite last home at Doncaster recently over 7 with the blinkers on for the first time and he has a good low draw.    

So nearly a wonderful double at Ascot yesterday with Primevere just being passed in the last 10 yards as they went to the line. She ran a good race and I hope will collect a Listed race in time and it might be worth seeing if she stays 10 furlongs which will give us more options. The handicapper was proved to be correct with his assessment of raising Keys 16lbs and I was thrilled with his performance considering the race was run in a dawdle and he had a little trouble in getting a run when he needed it. I get the impression that he will stay as far as you like and races like the Csarewitch or Doncaster Cup over the extended 2 miles will come into the reckoning.

Today we have three runners with Folly Bridge running in a 7 furlong fillies handicap at Newmarket with top weight of 10 stone which will be tough. I hope the ground dries out and that there is a decent pace which will suit her but there are plenty of younger horses that might prove difficult to beat. 

Folly Bridge

Discovery Bay is off to Ascot to run in the first race with Serena Brotherton.  He ran well over a mile in the spring and then I mistakenly thought that 10 furlongs would suit him at York but he ran a little free and did not finish his race. It is possible that 7 furlongs maybe too sharp for him but they do tend to go quite fast in these ladies races so it is arguable that you need a miler under these circumstances. He has a bit to prove against some hardened handicappers but we have an excellent and experienced lady rider who has won 52 races in her career so far, including winning this race last year. It would be great to have a winner for Her Majesty at her track and on King George day !

Discovery Bay

Loxton Lad returns to Salisbury for the 6 furlong maiden race but he will need to improve considerably to make the frame but he is progressing and 7 furlongs will be more to his liking in the future.

Loxton Lad

We have two runners today at Ascot where I gather they missed alot of the heavy showers that we certainly had in Wiltshire and the ground remains soft and good to soft in places.  Primevere runs in the fillies Listed race over a mile and will be experiencing soft ground for the first time and it is always difficult to know how they will handle it but she would definitely prefer some ease in the ground rather than being as fast as it was when she disappointed at York in the Spring. I get the feeling that she is progressing both mentally and physically and her last performance when she was runner up to Nahrain  at Sandown was a much improved effort.  Having finished 2nd in a Listed race it will be a great thrill for her to achieve a win at this level for her owner/breeder  Anthony Oppenheimer and his Hascombe and Valiant Stud. She is a daughter of Singspiel who has produced alot of fast ground horses but he did win the Canadian International at Woodbine on soft ground as a four year old.  

Primevere

Keys runs 6 days after his facile victory at Newbury last Saturday and it is pure speculation as to how far he could have won that day but the handicapper has raised him 16lbs in the future.  In an ideal world, I would have preferred the ground to be faster for him but it was soft when he won his Listed bumper at Cheltenham.  In my experience, quite alot of handicap good things have a habit of getting beaten but I am hoping that by him running over staying trips he will continue to produce improving performances.  It should be noted that   Colour Vision (Fr) trained by Mark Johnston also carries a 6lb penalty, but has been raised by 12lbs for future handicaps and won his last two races with ease.

Keys

Zamarelle eventually went in the stalls having backed out a couple of times and then relaxed well as soon as she was shut in.  At Newbury, she had reared up several times dislodging Steve Drowne and eventually galloped loose up the course, so yesterday was a big improvement !  She ran on well having looked quite green in the early stages to finish 6th and beaten around 5 lengths, she will be better suited to fast ground on the turf and a mile will suit this year and at least 10 furlongs next year.

Zamarelle runs today at Lingfield in the first race.  She was an intended runner at Newbury recently but unfortunately played up in the stalls, so has had to pass a stalls test last week before being allowed to run today.  She is a  nice scopey homebred filly who I hope will run well. She is a half sister to Red Eyes who did Federation on the line at Newmarket on Friday evening.

Zamarelle